CAREER: Key Chemical Principles Impacting Structure and Function in Compositionally-Complex Rocksalt Oxides

PART 1: NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY

This CAREER program supported by the Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program in the Division of Materials Research, investigates materials for energy storage to make the technology more sustainable and less dependent on scarce resources. To do so, researchers at the University of Florida generate new understanding in support of the development of alternative materials for lithium-ion batteries.

The alternative materials, called disordered rocksalt oxides, or DRXs, have the potential to reduce reliance on cobalt and nickel in batteries to enable a more sustainable energy future. However, DRX performance remains below that of current battery materials. DRXs typically contain many types of atoms, making it difficult to predict which combinations will form a DRX and how to control the resulting electrochemical properties, including battery performance.

This CAREER program identifies key parameters for making and controlling the battery performance of DRXs, including the types and amounts of atoms present and how they are arranged at the atomic scale. Additionally, the program provides training to undergraduate and high school students, and combines research with art, using dance to explain scientific concepts.

Dance-based explanations are captured in educational videos that are used for targeted outreach and made publicly available to support youth and adult interest and awareness with science and technology. PART 2: TECHNICAL SUMMARY

A sustainable energy future requires reducing dependence on Co- and Ni-based cathodes for Li-ion batteries. Li-excess disordered rocksalt oxides (DRXs) are alternative candidate cathodes, based on Mn and Fe redox-active transition metals, however, there are not yet robust strategies to increase their Li accessibility and capacity retention. This CAREER program applies solid state chemistry principles and advanced characterization methods to derive necessary understanding to realize the promise of DRXs.

To do so, researchers at University of Florida strategically sample the compositional parameter space to evaluate hypotheses about relationships of the number, species, and ratio of constituent cations. Through these activities, they elucidate the dominant chemical principles underlying the formation, stability, structure, and properties of DRXs and compositionally-complex oxides.

This CAREER award project combines research and mentorship with art and embodiment to explore research questions and foundational principles, through which it broadens participation in science through recruitment and retention. Dance is used as a medium to investigate research concepts and choreographic and verbal explanations generated during investigations are used to produce educational videos that are disseminated at outreach events and made publicly available.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.